With just a week until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday delivered what her campaign called a “closing speech” from the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., in which she pledged to “always put the country above the party and above itself.” »

As Donald Trump rallied his supporters Tuesday evening in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the setting of Harris’ speech carried its own message. It was the same location where then-President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021, urged his supporters to “fight like hell” and march to the Capitol building to protest congressional certification of his defeat in the Electoral College in 2020 against Joe Biden. A deadly riot ensued, as Trump watched the chaos from the White House, delaying proceedings for several hours before Biden was officially confirmed as the 46th US president.

With national polls and swing states showing Harris and Trump in a virtual dead endthe vice president’s rally drew a massive crowd, estimated at 75,000 peoplewhich filled the Ellipse and spilled onto the National Mall. Here are the key takeaways from his speech.

Harris frames “choice”

As sirens and car alarms blared in the background in an apparent act of protest, Harris began by framing the election as “a choice between whether we have a country rooted in freedom for every American or governed by the chaos and division.

“Look, we know who Donald Trump is. He was the one who stood in this very spot nearly four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election, an election that he knew he lost,” Harris said.

“He has a list of enemies and people he intends to sue,” she added. “He says one of his highest priorities is freeing the violent extremists who attacked law enforcement on January 6. Donald Trump intends to use the US military against US citizens who simply do not agree with him. People he calls “the enemy from within”. America is not a presidential candidate thinking about how to improve his life. He is someone unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed by grievances and in search of uncontrolled power.

Telling his audience “that’s not who we are,” Harris then espoused his own belief that the Latin phrase printed on U.S. currency, “E pluribus unum,” which translates to “among many, one,” is “a living truth about the heart of our nation.

“Just because someone disagrees with us does not make them an ‘enemy within,’” she said, adding, “As Americans, we rise and fall together. “

Harris then presented her candidacy as a way to “turn the page on drama and conflict, fear and division.” It is time for a new generation of leaders in America and I am ready to provide that leadership as the next President of the United States of America. »

Later in her speech, she pledged “to be a president for all Americans.” Always put the country above the party and above yourself.

She always introduces herself to voters

Harris acknowledged that “this has not been a typical campaign.” His entry into the race came just three months ago, after concerns about Biden’s age prompted Democrats to try to convince him to leave the race. In the sprint that followed, Harris sometimes struggled to introduce herself to voters, “even though I’ve had the honor of being your vice president for the last four years,” she said Tuesday, adding, “But I know a lot of you are still learning who I am.

Harris then touted her professional experience outside of Washington, primarily as attorney general for the state of California, saying she had “always had a protective instinct.”

“This is what I promise you. I will always listen to you, even if you don’t vote for me. I will always tell you the truth, even if it is difficult to hear. I will work every day to achieve consensus and compromise to move things forward,” she said in her speech to voters.

“From day one, if elected, Donald Trump would enter office with a list of enemies,” Harris said. “Once elected, I will arrive with a list of things to do.”

Right to abortion

Harris rarely misses an opportunity to proclaim her intention to work to restore women’s rights to abortion across the country, and she reiterated Tuesday that following the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade “One in three American women live in a state where abortion is banned by Trump, and many make no exceptions when it comes to rape and incest.”

“Trump is not finished. It would ban abortion nationwide,” Harris said, “restrict access to birth control, endanger IVF treatments and require states to monitor women’s pregnancies.”

However, Trump made no such promises.

Harris acknowledged that to restore abortion protections, she would need support from Congress.

“When Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the United States, I will be proud to sign it,” she said.

A “path to citizenship” for certain immigrants

Harris again promised that if elected, she would sign a bipartisan border security bill – a bill that was torpedoed by Trump earlier this year –.

Declaring that she would “give Border Patrol the support they desperately need,” Harris added: “At the same time, we must recognize that we are a nation of immigrants, and I will work with Congress to pass reform immigration, including earned immigration reform. path to citizenship for hard-working immigrants like farmworkers and our Dreamers.

Many Republicans oppose providing a path to citizenship. Trump also promised the largest deportation of immigrants to the United States in the country’s history.